The premise of this book is very thin. In fact, I could hardly make sense of it. I ended up skimming through it, and I liked the artwork, but nice pictures don't make an otherwise vapid chapter book fly. ( )

Lemony Snickett and Roald Dahl collide with Brian Selznick in this unusual story of a sister's refusal to forget about the baby sister her parents abandon. Carolyn Coman's text is full of her signature sly humor, and Rob Shepperson's illustrations (a combination of finished pictures and unfinalized sketch art in the ARC) are beautifully expressive, but sadly, I think the target audience is going to be lost. What worked so well in Hugo Cabret with the marriage of text and graphics just doesn't flow here. An ambitious attempt, and enjoyable on several levels, but not quite a win for the audience for whom it's intended. ( )

En härlig bok full av fantasi. Tankarna går till Roald Dahls chokladfabrik. Det berättas bland annat om en Internationell Minnesbank där alla människors minnen förvaras och sorteras, ett drömvalv där nattens drömmar sparas i små skinnpåsar och en Utsuddarliga bestående av barn beväpnade med godisklubbor. Extra plus för att delar av handlingen utspelas i flera sidor med härliga illustrationer mellan varje kapitel.
Riktigt bra! ( )

Recommended Ages: Gr. 3-6

Plot Summary: Hope is told to forget about her sister after her parents leave her on the side of the road and drive off leaving Honey in a cloud of dust. Back at home, Hope is kicked out of her bedroom and into the garage where she sleeps on a cot. Her mind is consumed with her sister, but she gets distracted by the first piece of mail she's ever received, which she finds on the kitchen table with a bunch of other bills and overdue notices. It's from the bank, and she doesn't understand a word of what it all means, but it was addressed to her and she isn't used to being wanted, so she puts in under her pillow. The next day Obleratta picks her up and takes her to WWMB. Before Sterling can interrogate her, Violette insists Honey is her responsibility because of the dreams she produces. The next day, Honey meets many people, finding warmth and compassion for the first time in her life. she feels wanted and loved by Helen, and even Ute and Franka. When Sterling finally questions her and finds she wasn't doing anything wrong, she begs to stay and offers to polish the drawers in order to stay a little longer. All of a sudden, the alarm is going off because lollipops are being thrown down into the bank messing with the equipment. Sterling knows it is the CSG and is scared of the pressing danger, but Hope is brave and climbs up the machine to unclog the hole when she hears Honey's whistle.

Setting: future? dump near the big bank

Characters:
Hope Scroggins - doesn't understand big words, might not have ever gone to school,
Honey Scroggins - AKA Sonny Scroggins,
Mr. & Mrs. Scroggins - Hope's parents, not very nice and shouldn't be parents
Obleratta - is responsible for pick-ups and deliveries, also goes to the dump to get rid of the lobeglobes that aren't perfectly round, upset that he needs to start picking up kids, feels bad for Hope and is nice to her, answers her questions and buys her food at the gas station
Sterling - head of the World Wide Memory Bank, always has important things to do, can't say the word children, works in the everlasting memories room, lets Hope polish the drawers, warns Hope about the Clean Slate Gang (CSG)
Violette - head of the dream room, finds her work incredibly important, convinces Sterling this is where Hope belongs when she first arrives
Helen -head of the room with children's memories, finds the memories of baby's "memies" incredibly special, is warm and mother-like to Hope, gives her lots of chocolate kisses, is the first person to hear Hope's story
Ute & Franka - sorters, nice & warm towards Hope, talk like caveman, offer Hope lots of coffee cake because they think she's too skinny
Tabby - AKA Mary Martha, AKA Tabula Rasa,

Recurring Themes: dreams, loss of sibling, memories, family

Controversial Issues: none

Personal Thoughts:

Genre: fantasy (but no fantastical characters, just the idea of keeping memories in little marble-like balls)

Pacing: medium - fast because of the pictures and big font but not a whole lot of suspenseful action
Characters: not sure who the big group of children are until the end, although the reader might be able to guess
Frame: a little confusing and the fantastical elements are not fully explained in order to make this a short read
Storyline:

Activity:

Readalike: there are short passages of illustrations that tell the story, similar to Invention of Hugo Cabret ( )

Reviewed by Theresa L. Stowell for TeensReadToo.com

Hope and Honey Scroggins have terrible parents. Their parents are so bad that it's no surprise to Hope when they leave tiny little Honey at the side of the road. "Just forget her" is the constant refrain from the adult members of the Scroggins family, who sell off Honey's belongings and take over their children's room. Hope is crushed and retreats into sleep to escape the heartbreak of her sister's loss.

But sleeping all of the time means that Hope isn't building any real life memories, so the Memory Bank sends a notice to Hope telling her that she has a deficit in her memory deposits. Though she doesn't understand the letter, Hope cherishes her first letter and hides it under her cot in the garage before going back to sleep to dream about Honey. A short time later, Mr. Obleratta shows up to take her to the WWMB, the World Wide Memory Bank.

Hope's adventure truly begins as she is placed on a conveyor belt and sent into the WWMD to justify why she is dreaming more than living. Within the WWMD, Hope meets all kinds of people and experiences positive adult relationships for the first time.

This is an enchanting story of two little girls whose love for each other ties them together despite separation and different experiences. Coman's narrative about Hope's adventure is interspersed with Shepperson's series of delightful illustrations that tell Honey's story. THE MEMORY BANK is an enjoyable experience that would work great for young readers, for classrooms, or family discussions. ( )